Greetings from Bryant-Denny Stadium, where No. 2 Alabama is expected to rout Auburn

Bryant-Denny Stadium is fairly quiet now, but it will be rocking in a few hours when No. 2 Alabama meets Auburn. (Tuscaloosa Bureau/Don Kausler Jr.)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- It's a cool, crisp, sunny football Saturday, where a breeze out of the north is breathing winter air on Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In only a few hours, No. 2 Alabama will try to keep its championship hopes alive when it meets an Auburn team that is trying to avoid its first winless Southeastern Conference season.

Alabama is a 32-point favorite in a game that is scheduled to kick off just after 2:30 p.m. CST. That game will be televised nationally by CBS.

That line is 10 more points than the Iron Bowl record, at least in records that date to 1976. In 1977, the Crimson Tide was favored by 22 points and covered with a 48-21 victory.

With a victory, Alabama (10-1, 6-1 SEC) will clinch the SEC Western Division championship. It then will meet No. 3 Georgia at 3 p.m. CST Saturday in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Georgia is playing host to Georgia Tech now in a game that only has national championship implications.

The winner of the SEC Championship Game is more than likely to meet No. 1 Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7 in the Miami area. That is, if the Fighting Irish defeat USC at 7 p.m. CST Saturday in Los Angeles.

There isn't much to be said that hasn't already been said, but here are a few links: